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As he sat on the bench eight weeks ago, his knee in agonizing pain, Tyler Brady thought his final high school football season had ended.

He endured minor injuries during his varsity career, which began in his freshman year. But this felt a lot different and even the remote possibility of not playing again made the suffering worse.

But through an intense rehabilitation program, Brady, Lakeland's senior running back and linebacker, returned and has given his team the emotional lift it needed at the end of the season.

On Friday, Brady and the second-seeded Chiefs (8-3) will travel to face top-seeded Wyoming Area (9-2) in the District 2 Class AA championship game at 7 p.m. It will be the third title game for Brady and the one he will cherish the most.

"It is great to be back," said Brady, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior. "That was the goal. Obviously my knee has hurt a lot. I just had to stick with it and do it for the team.

"People didn't believe that Lakeland could do it this year. We just kept that in our minds and worked hard."

As a freshman, Brady and classmate Cody Delfino were moved up to the varsity team to add depth to the roster. Both did more than just contribute spot duty on special teams. They forged their way into the starting lineup by the end of the season.

Each did their part on a defense that helped Lakeland reach the District 2 Class AA championship game where it lost to a talented Dunmore team.

"I got to play with a lot of great players that season and they taught me how to be a leader," Brady said.

In his sophomore season, Brady played a pivotal role in Lakeland's most recent championship year. He ran for 538 yards and scored seven touchdowns, including the game-winner in a 21-20 victory over Riverside, which reached the PIAA Class A final that season.

He had 33 tackles on defense and the Chiefs won the Lackawanna Football Conference Division II crown, but lost to GAR in the District 2 Class AA championship game to finish 10-2.

After a season in 2011 where Lakeland went 5-6 and lost in the first round of the District 2 Class AA playoffs to GAR, Brady went to work.

He hit the weight room and started his summer conditioning program determined to prove those who believed the Chiefs had taken a step back were wrong.

Lakeland got off to a fast start by beating GAR with Brady gaining 100 yards as the team's starting tailback. They were trying to bounce back from a loss to Valley View in Week 2 when Brady's season began to crash around him.

He absorbed a direct hit on his knee, hyper-extending it and putting him on the shelf.

"It was a tough injury and it was tough on him," Lakeland senior quarterback Kyle Kiehart said. "He was devastated by it."

In his absence, Lakeland found Chris Roche to fill the void. A junior running back, he has been a spark for the Chiefs and gained more than 1,200 yards. That success allowed Brady the time he needed to get healthy after doctors determined he would not need surgery.

"Basically, my team stuck with me," Brady said. "They pushed me to work hard. That was the first time I ever missed a practice, it was different for me."

Finally, when Brady returned, the consummate team player moved from tailback to fullback, giving the Chiefs two powerful running options.

"He just wants the team to win," Lakeland coach Jeff Wasilchak said. "He's one of those unselfish guys who says that whatever the teams needs, he will do."

Against GAR in the semifinals, Brady again fell to the turf grasping at his knee. There was silence on the sideline.

And despite the pain, he got up and reaffirmed to his teammates that there is nothing that would stop him from getting back in the game.

"He's having a hard time with it," Kiehart said. "But he lifts every day and is doing everything he can do. He is playing through this for us.

"He won't ever give up."

That has been the rallying cry for Brady and the entire Lakeland team this season.

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